Welcome to our CaringBridge website. We are using it to keep family and friends updated in one place. We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. Thank you for visiting. Until now, this site is the LAST thing I would've expected to need, but lo and behold, here I am and thanking God for this wonderful tool. Many of you are aware that Ted has not been feeling well for some time. It seemed to come to a head on March 2nd; I took him to the ER at Dignity Health where he was given a diagnosis of dehydration, administered some fluids, and sent on his way. I breathed a sigh of relief; not a horrible diagnosis--I could handle this...( I had already been "on him" for not drinking enough water...). My relief was short-lived, though. We were back in the Banner ER a week later--Ted had not only NOT improved, he was in a great deal of pain. He believed it was due to a herniated disc but the doctors felt it was a pinched nerve and again, sent him on his way. At home once more and after failing to show any improvement, we met with his GP. She ran some blood work and by that afternoon, was calling me to take him back to the ER. More tests revealed a bleeding ulcer and acute renal failure. He remained in the hospital for 5 days (3/29--4/2). He was discharged AGAIN with almost the same results at home: not eating, barely able to walk, and sleeping most of the time. Returned to the GP yet again, more tests, and failing kidneys. Back to the ER we went; he has been there since last Thursday (4/8) and receiving dialysis.( For now, I believe the need for dialysis will only be temporary.) At this point, I am sure you are all waiting to hear the diagnosis, right? Well, so are we! Unfortunately, Ted's being diagnosed as "the mystery man." All the tests, MRI's, CAT scans, blood work, haven't revealed much of anything. He has a team of doctors ( & I do mean a team!)--specialists in the areas of lungs, heart, blood, kidneys, internal, etc. Yesterday he had a full body scan which showed nothing. Today he underwent a kidney biopsy which was extremely painful for him. The doctors won't have the results until probably some time Thursday; they are expecting to get a lot more information from the biopsy. Whew, this is all just SO unimaginable for me! Ted is just seriously the nicest guy out there. EVERYONE loves Ted; he would anything for anyone! Even after 34 years of marriage, I am still singing his praises, which says a lot about him right there. I have said hundreds of times, if I could clone Ted, I would be a millionaire and never have to work again. Everyone wants to know how to help us, what do we need, etc. The best and most important thing you could do for both Ted and me is to PRAY for us. Although we have been immensely blessed by our friends and family whom we treasure dearly, we are ultimately most thankful for our great , all-powerful God who is in total control. Ted gave his life to Christ on October 24, 2015; I know because I came across his Baptism certificate yesterday. Though he doesn't usually keep much in the way of mementos, he kept his Certificate. That shows just how much Jesus is a part of his life. We have prayed together and we know God is with us always, but especially in this season and on this journey. We have put on the Armor of God; He is giving us many resources to find some answers. We see Him and His hands during this time. I promise to update everyone once we have some definitive answers. At this time, Ted is not accepting visitors, calls, or texts. Please understand that I am being overwhelmed as well with calls and texts; we both appreciate Caring Bridge as a means of communication with all of you. We look forward to hearing from you on Caring Bridge. Much love, Pam & Ted
